Economy of the Phoenix Empire
Basics The three castes of the Phoenix Empire - nobles, commoners and slaves - create three distinct and co-dependent economic layers. In this context it is important to remember that the three castes have vastly different and consciously segregated lifestyles. While slaves live in what can basically be called medieval circumstances, commoners of the Phoenix Empire enjoy all amenities of a comparable 20th century lifestyle. Nobles, at the same time, live in what can only be described as high-science-fiction setting, with all the borderline magical technology that implies. Both an effect of and reason for those different lifestyles are the professions the different castes usually take up, or rather, are allowed to take up. Slaves are considered unfit to do anything beyond simple menial labour, be that at a farm or in a factory. On many planets, even the ability to read and write, for a slave, is punishable by death. Anything remotely calling for any level of education (that is, anything beyond knowing how to write your name) is the domain of the commoners. Commoners are the ones running the trade of the Empire. They own the factories, the ships and the guild-enforced patents that protect their intellectual property. Also, commoners run the public finance and banking system of the Empire and own the vast majority of the slaves that are not serfs. Nobles, in general, do not have jobs, they have titles. No noble would ever sign anything as demeaning as a long-term work contract, or even admit to being in need of a regular income. Nobles own the very ground slaves and commoners work on, they control the military and hold the monopoly on taxes, last of which is their only official source of income. As all real estate property belongs to the nobility, only nobles can own serfs. Also notable in this context is the fact that merely 1 percent of population is commoners, and there is roughly only one noble per 1000 commoners. This steep decline in numbers is balanced by an equally steep increase of available knowledge and technology. This creates a great surplus of very cheap if relatively unskilled labour, and in consequence only a tiny fraction of the income of the lower strata has to be skimmed to create immense gains for the ones above. This situation leads to a very interesting pricing and purchasing power structure that in part is responsible for the relative stability of the Phoenix Empire. Artists, Artisans and ‘artisan technology’ One very interesting oddity of this system is the fact that talented commoner artists and artisans end up cherished, well paid and afforded luxurious and coveted lifestyles. Most commoners have little to no interest in or money for live entertainment or custom made goods. On the other hand, nobles with their constant need to show off are willing and able to spend a lot of money on real talent, hoping to be able to show them off as ‘their’ discovery. Logically, they can not possibly afford to have their latest darling become commonplace, that is, their ‘pet artist’ taking on commissions from other people or appearing on stage at some other noble’s court. So, as soon as an artist / artisan reaches a certain renown, a ‘bidding war’ between interested nobles begins, with each one of them trying to coax the artist into some kind of long-term agreement of exclusivity. This can lead to nobles making staggering promises of patronage to an artist, with all those nobles who had their offer rejected keeping a very close eye on them actually being met. In this context it is important to note that very high-level technology is so rare and those skilled in development and maintenance of such machines are so few that high-tech specialists and tinkerers are treated as artisans in the Phoenix Empire. Other Articles on the Economy of the Phoenix Empire Economy Category:Items